The "Big Storm"

So we got the "big storm" over the weekend. Really, it wasn't as devastating as the forecast seemed to be. We got about 12 inches of snow--measured before and after with a yardstick on our patio table, which is not overshadowed by trees and is a pretty good fall-where-it-lies location for measuring. However, I didn't measure last night because I would have had to wade through about a foot of snow just to walk out to the table, so Stan measured this morning. Meanwhile the wind had picked up considerably and I'd guess we lost 1-2 inches to that. The excitement around here is that Peru, NY, made the national news because it got 18 inches, apparently a big deal (to everyone else) in this nor'easter. So while it's a bit blurry, here's what the pretty front yard tree looks like--note that the snow is right up to and a little over the bottom branches as compared to the earlier shot.


Tonight it's very cold, expected to be around 0 in Plattsburgh and you can usually minus 5-10 degrees from that at our (very modest) elevation. Just say cold. I'm sentenced to my treadmill: I don't go walking when it's below 10, especially if there's a wind.

I'm going to staff the Christmas Bureau's wrapping station at the mall on Wednesday, and I'm actually pretty excited about that. I love to wrap presents and will do the best I can. I don't plan to be Martha-y at this, just do the job. But I really do love to wrap so this will be fun. And I think I'm pretty good at gently asking people to pay for the service. I'll try to remember to post my results.

I'm revving up to do my workshop in Philly in January. This is one I'm really looking forward to. It's more creative than most, with me doing a "bad teacher/good teacher" and "bad presenter/good presenter" (to faculty) acting job and juggling questions/attitudes from my audience. This should be a lot of fun. REALLY fun. I've not done improv like this before and it's something I can add to my brochure if it's successful.

I hid the rest of the cookies I baked last week; Stan was going through them at a rate that meant none for Christmas. I did Spritz, Pecan Fingers and Peanut Blossoms. I like the first two and can definitely live w/o the peanut-butter ones. I'll bring them out Christmas Eve and hope they last till New Year's!